It was a relief that the Emerald editor chose to underplay Kirishima's drunken slurs from the other night and turn their chance meeting into an opportunity to discuss Sorata. It would be lonely having the cat absent from the household for the rest of the week, but Yokozawa and Takano shared custody of the feline, so it was only fair for the two of them to spend some quality time together too.
It would have been rude to unload Sorata into his care and be on his way, so he decided to stick around for a bit. Impelling some small talk, Yokozawa discovered there was still a lingering part of him that still did care about the guy, and it was nice to know that he still had those feelings without the depressing one-sided love attached to them anymore; all that remain was wholesome concern for a friend.
Maybe Kirishima's teasing wasn't too far from the truth; there was unmistakably a mothering side to Yokozawa that undertook the responsibilities that came with watching after others who needed it.
Takano had been so weak back then, like a feeble kitten abandoned in the rain. Around Marukawa, he was admired as the capable editor that brought the Emerald department back on its feet. If only they knew what Yokozawa did: how he could be broken down so easily off his own two feet.
Not only did he feel obligated to take him under him under his wing and nurture him, but to want to love him unconditionally, and have it returned.
Luckily, the latter had disappeared. The love that had formed was unavoidable at the time; for someone so vulnerable and fragile it was only natural for Yokozawa, or any normal person, to develop a soft spot for someone like that.
Having love returned was a simple favor to ask for all he'd done, but that's where the past him was wrong, and it was only now he was seeing it now; how immaturely selfish and inconsiderate he handled the whole matter. But he couldn't feel much guilt now, for he had no way of comprehending such things at the time, so it was useless to blame himself.
When you love someone, you love someone. That's all there was to it, yet it was a simple concept that perplexed Yokozawa, and gave him thoughts of, 'Why does he love him of all people? Why can't he love me?' If he knew what true love really was all about, he would have understood Takano's feelings perfectly, and disregarded his own.
Those feelings were mistaken, Yokozawa hadn't loved him romantically, he probably loved him in a way a parent loves their child. He never wanted to see the guy hurt, and he believed the only way to ensure that would be to have him close at his side.
No wonder why he acted so foolishly. He didn't even know how to read his or others feelings, and he hadn't a clue what love really was.
Though, it was all the past now, because Yokozawa now understood exactly how Takano must feel for Onodera, because he's finally experienced it for himself.
Just as he was leaving, the newbie editor was welcoming himself inside Takano's apartment and he couldn't help but notice he seemed much more at ease around Takano for a change. There was undoubtedly a different atmosphere around the two compared to a few months back.
It strangely…relieved Yokozawa. If Onodera stepped up to the plate and returned his feelings, then there would be little room left for him to involve himself any more than just being a casual friend.
So long as Onodera was serious and cared for him, he honestly didn't mind passing down his self-earned title. If his position of 'mothering' Takano were to fall into Onodera's hands, he'd be okay with that, and they would have his approval.
After all, Yokozawa had his own responsibilities now - more than he used to. Hardly did he have the time to look after him anymore despite the fact he still cared deeply for him. If Onodera could take over the heavy load for him, and in return he freely got some piece of mind from his worries, he would be secretly in debt to the guy.
This new world he lived now was filled with much more than just worries circling around Takano. There was a young girl he had to set a good example for and a spot to earn in the Kirishima family.
Disparate to how he was with Takano, he didn't actually intend to come off as an absolute mother figure to Hiyori. It could be due out of his respect for Sakura. There was no way he could ever replace the care and love of a girls mother after all, but he did indubitably aim to ease the woman's mind a bit and show that her daughter was in good hands with him, and of course in her absence, he'd always take care her no-good husband that was currently squeezing the life out of him upon entering the genkan.
"He- W-Wait…!"
"It's okay," Kirishima squeezed, "We're all alone. Hiyo's at Yuki-chan's place if that's what you're worried about."
Pulling away, he downcasted his gaze, "...It's not just that – you shouldn't attack people as soon as they walk through the door like that!"
To quiet his complaints, Kirishima's curved lips quickly glazed over Yokozawa's, and it was a job well done. The abrupt peck shut him right up. "So, how did it go?"
"What do you mean? I just dropped him off, that's all."
"Awh really? Boring – I figured something comically awkward happened."
"Everything's always a big joke to you, isn't it?"
Kirishima's smirk faded as his eyes shifted down, and he nodded his chin up, "What's that you got there?"
In his hand was a bag which he now lifted slightly, "Oh this? Just some early birthday gifts."
"Aren't you popular?" Kirishima moved in closer and tried to sneak a peek in the bag, "Who are they from?"
Unnecessarily nosy he could be at times. He gave him a shifty look, "…Co-workers."
"…Takano-san?"
"..." He moved past him, "And so what if he did get me something?" They were getting closer to mutual grounds again, and despite the faded, yet still evident tension between them, they did know each other since college. It actually would have been odd if Takano hadn't gotten him anything. Given that he did, it was clear there was progress being made to the healing of the relationship. It seemed that their friendship wasn't going to suffer any long-time effect like he originally believed.
What he hadn't expected was for Onodera of all people to get him something as well. Assuming it was just an order from Takano, he accepted, but still found it a little strange. To a lesser extent, that too was a relief. They didn't exactly get off on the right foot, and if Onodera was sincerely devoted to never hurting Takano again, then he had no reason to dislike him anymore. It would be a pleasure to patch things up with him and at the very least have a healthy working relationship.
"I don't mind that he did, dummy, but I wanna know what he got you!"
"Well you'll have to wait; I don't open gifts until the correct day."
"Don't tell me you're the superstitious type that thinks it's bad luck." While trying to subtly pry the bag from his grasp, it became clear to Yokozawa that he fully intended to fulfill his curiosity by any means.
"Would you knock it off," he swatted his hand as he moved into the bedroom, Kirishima trailing close behind. "Why are you so interested anyway? It's not like it's for you."
"You're not even a little curious?"
"Not really – I stopped getting excited over presents when I was twelve." He decided to store away the unopen gifts up on the top shelf on his side of the closet until the right day arrived.
Kirishima tousled his locks roughly, looking disappointed, "Wah you're no fun. Anyway, since we're on the subject of your birthday, do you want to make any plans?"
"I wasn't really planning on doing anything special. I'm going to be quite busy this week anyway with the trip and all, so I don't want a big celebration." Everyone within his department had been trying to secretly plot a little get together behind his back, but once Yokozawa caught word of it, he respectfully declined the offer. He went out drinking with co-workers enough. Really, it would be more of a celebration not to do that on his birthday of all days.
"Oh that's right, I forgot you're going to Osaka for a few days. Are you sure you'll even be back in time for your birthday?"
"I should be, but like I said it's not a big deal, I don't want to do anything."
He urged on with little sign of retreating, "Well we should do something, even if it's just the three of us celebrating."
Admittedly, it would be nice to just spend time with Hiyori and Kirishima, even though that was already a given. Yet that didn't seem to be what he was aiming at; Kirishima didn't appear to be suggesting a night in of relaxing like Yokozzwa was hoping - he seemed to be set on the idea of doing some proper celebrating together. "If you want to plan something, go ahead, but nothing too extravagant, alright?"
"Can't you just tell me what you'd like to do? Geez, I have enough on my mind about your birthday as it is – lay a little off me, will ya'?"
Cluelessly, he blinked his way, "What do you mean?"
Brushing it off, Kirishima moved from the bedroom, "Nevermind, I'll think of something."
Perplexed, Yokozawa stood there statically. If he didn't want the headache of planning anything, then why was he being so pushy about it in the first place?
That editor sure did speak in riddles sometimes – a trait that was either innate or an attribute passed down from his job after having to convince problematic authors to do what seemed like impossible tasks to them: like handing in manuscripts on time. But for someone like Yokozawa who didn't have much part in making the merchandise, only on the selling end of it, Kirishima's dialect could sometimes be taken as foreign.
With a sound of a door clicking and trampling feet, it was apparent the other member of the house had arrived home. Walking himself out of the bedroom, he was immediately greeted by a smile, "Oh Oniichan! Do you have a second?"
"I have lots of seconds, what do you need?"
The girl pulled out a few sheets from her backpack and stretched them up to his field of vision, "I just finished a couple of homework assignments with Yuki-chan, but I need someone to double check it for me!"
"Sure thing, just set it up on the table and I'll give it a look."
"Ah really?! Thank you~!" With Yokozawa accepting her request, Hiyori dashed into the kitchen and placed herself in the dinning seat.
"…Man, she's got it bad," Kirishima folded his arms as he moved in closer to Yokozawa, who had shifted his features to an unpleasant expression upon hearing him, "Look what you've done to her: my little girl rather get tutored by a sexy older man than her own father. And to think she used to ask me for help with her homework – it feels like a foggy memory now."
"Give me a break – don't start the self-pity now. She probably doesn't want to bother you after a long day. She's just being considerate, you should be grateful for that."
"I'd be grateful if she depended on me for everything."
"Because encouraging independence to children is such an awful thing."
"Glad you agree with me."
"…You of all people should catch onto sarcasm." Yokozawa pinched the bridge of his brow as he moved away from his lover, who seemed to be in an odd mood this evening. He can't still be bothered about what Hiyori said this morning, could he? Sorting through the homework after he sat beside Hiyori, he figured that it wasn't very far-fetched to assume the guy was still sulking about it. It was Kirishima that he was dealing with, so of course he was still going over something irritatingly pointless.
"So did you and father have a fun day at work?" she asked; her fist under her chin as she stared intently at him.
He chucked some, "I'm not so sure I'd call it fun, but it was indeed a good day."
"Huh? Of course it's gotta be fun - you and father work at the same place together, so time must fly by pretty quick since you have each other's company!"
If he had the misfortune of actually working side-by-side with Kirishima for a tiring full-shift, the day would be anything but quick, "Actually, we don't get to see much of each other because we work in different departments, but we do run into each other now and again and sit through some meetings together."
"Awh, really? That's no fair…" The girl appeared to be gloomy when being informed on this, "But at least you can still spend time with him every day, I know that must make you really happy, right Oniichan?"
"…Ah." Yokozawa buried his sight into the stack of homework and gave a choked up "uh-huh" in reply.
"You know," the girl hooked her head around a bit before returning back to Yokozawa with the kindest of eyes that were contently hooded, "I was starting to get a little worried about papa before you came along. It's so nice to know that he has someone special now – someone that cares about him and makes him happy."
"…"
Imagine that, a man such as himself who made a living as a salesman; a profession that required a gift for charisma had been left speechless by an eleven year old girls simple vocabulary. Even though he disbelieved it for a mere second, he had to accept the terms of the fact that he hadn't a damn thing to say.
The context of what she said was obviously misinterpreted by him, but in all fairness, who in his position wouldn't misinterpret that?
It could be his paranoia squirming in again, but it was the first time he ever heard Hiyori speak in that sort of tone, and choose such words.
All she had said was that she was happy that her father had a close friend that made him happy - innocent enough. He tried to convince himself he was over thinking it and that it was something any normal child could say.
...right?
In her perspective, she just saw him as a close family friend. There was a lot more to it beyond her knowledge of course, but that was a secret between Kirishima and himself, and there would be no way of her catching onto said secret. Why did he sometimes jump to the most unlikely conclusions?
It couldn't be helped after being hit off guard out of the blue like that, he supposed. And to make this situation even more daunting, now that he knew that she actually acknowledged the fact that they made each other happy, it made him feel very…
"What are you blushing about?" Kirishima, leaning against archway, fixed those playful eyes right into him.
"I'm not-! …blushing." Irritated, he tried to distract his nerves with the homework in his hands, but Kirishima wouldn't give up on his favorite game so easy.
"Why are you so red then? Please don't tell me those elementary assignments are frustrating you."
"…You're pushing your luck, Kirishima."
"Aw am I? Just when I was feeling like the luckiest papa in the world for having a special someone that makes me sooo~happy~"
Hiyo puffed as she snapped in her father's direction, "Y-You heard me?! Waah no way! You weren't supposed to know that!"
The poor girl still had a few years until she learnt that a father had the special ability to hear at a world-wide range when it came to their daughter.
"Aww, look at that. The both of you look like twins with your matching red faces~"
Even the inundating complaints didn't have the power to stop the snickering editor from pulling out his cell and stealing a few shots of the droll scene.
A/N: Thank you all for reading this far and for your lovely reviews, follows and favorites! Seeing that always puts a dorky smile on my face and helps keep me motivated. I have many plans for this fic (what I have up now doesn't even dent the surface yet) so I hope you all see to it until the end and enjoy the ride!
Side note: I have a few headcanons that I'll be adding in the future to fill in some gaps on personal history (don't worry, they're not totally OOC or anything like that!) so I want to take this opportunity to mention that any suggestions or headcanons you may have are welcomed. I'd love to try to please all the amazing Trifecta fans the best I can! All I ask is for them to be somewhat in-character since I'm trying to keep this theme true to the canon. Even if the ideas is never mentioned in the books, so long as it works with their personalities, I'll be more than happy to add it in at some point and give credit!